Well this sucks! Even though the new Verizon LTE phones will use a SIM card to connect, they will not be compatible with other LTE networks like AT&T. There was some recent speculation about this but now we know for sure that this will not work! While the frequencies each company use bump up against each other and interoperability is technically possible, Verizon has no intent of making its phones able to communicate in wider bands.
Both AT&T and Verizon use frequencies in the 700-800MHz band for their LTE networks. However, Verizon’s block is roughly 746-787MHz, while AT&T uses 704-745MHz. Apparently Verizon owns a bit of the 704-710MHz spectrum as well, also known as the “lower B block,” but the chances for collaboration there was slim at best. Even if both LTE networks could work on one phone the networks would drop down to outside the few LTE areas in the country. Verizon uses CDMA for their 2G and 3G, while AT&T uses GSM and HSPA.
Well this is too bad!